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This has been some memorable trip for sure. I am still not back in
Mumbai but must blog about the memories of this return leg of my
journey. The entire trip to the US was uneventful (leave aside the
spider bite) and could meet so many people out there. Started off on
Monday morning (July 18, 2011) when Yogesh dropped me off at SFO
Airport at 1040. The flight was an Air India code share with Singapore
Airlines from SFO to Singapore departing at 1410 and then after a 10
hour layover I was to reach home on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 1330.
Yogesh wanted to wait till I checked in but I said don&rsquo;t
bother and finally he relented and I went in. At the check in counter,
I got a shocker. They said they do not have any such booking and then
they went in and it seems Air India said that someone had cancelled the
booking. How ridiculous!!!! I called up Yogesh who conferenced me with
Arzoo.com. Zarin was extremely courteous and first thing he told me
&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t panic, we will work this out&rdquo; Had
it not been for him and Abbas there at Arzoo, my blood pressure would
have gone through the roof honestly. They got the team involved and
numerous calls went back and forth. Finally at about 1 pm, all of us
gave up on Air India and they booked me by Emirates to India. Thank
heavens!!! Meetabhabhi had packed some food for me even though I was
against it as the flight was at 1410 but ladies have some 6th sense and
they can foresee things we can&rsquo;t, so I had that for lunch.
The Emirates flight was at 1645 from SFO and the fun now started as I
was in the boarding queue. They announced that the incoming aircraft
had a snag and had to land in Toronto so we would now board only at
2240. Wow. I went through the security and got past by 1610. Thank God
for free Wi fi, and I could watch live news on Indian TV, even had a
video chat with Hiten and called and spoke to so many people at length.
Made the most of the AT&amp;T prepaid whose connection was thanks
to Parin. We boarded around mid night and took off at just around 1 am.
After 15 hours landed in Dubai at 0300 local time and here I am sitting
at Dubai Airport. While we were scheduled to leave by the 0355 flight
from Dubai, when I reached the gate here, they said that there was no
time for the luggage to be transferred so the whole lot of people were
put on the next flight at 0935. So 6.5 hours to kill of which 4.5 have
passed. The new terminal 3 is swanky and impressive no doubt but
honestly having spent 14+6.5 hours at SFO and then DXB airports for a
15+2.5 hour flights I am now dog tired and seriously want to get home
and rest.<br>
<br>
What I learnt from this trip:<br>
<br>
a) Use Arzoo.com to book your tickets. They really pulled me out of the
mess created by Air India.<br>
<br>
b) Never ever fly Air India. Had it with them. Small wonder that they
are bleeding profusely&hellip;&hellip;<br>
<br>
c) Select a decent airline for such long haul flights. You never know
what can go wrong.<br>
<br>
As I wait at the gate for the Mumbai flight (0800 here) I am hoping
that there are absolutely no surprises in store now for me on the last
leg of the journey.&nbsp; I am not at all prepared for anything
more now.<br>
<br>
Written by Manish Kamdar<br>
<br>
July 20, 2011 at 9:32 AM<br>
<br>
Posted in Uncategorized<br>
<br>
Tagged with Air India, Arzoo.com, Dubai, San Francisco, Travel, USA
Musings<br>
Chalo Dilli &ndash; An average film with a good ending<br>
<br>
with 2 comments<br>
<br>
Watched this movie yesterday evening on my flight from Atlanta to
Phoenix. Lara Dutta is a successful banker from Mumbai who misses her
flight to Delhi and needs to get there at any cost. She meets Vinay
Pathak (in a role with shades of Bheja Fry) and they go through a
roller coaster ride into rural India on their way to Delhi travelling
by both road and rail. The pace tends to slacken mid way and Vinay
Pathak does get monotonous and boring but the ending is worth a watch.
The message was different so it was worth the time spent. In any case I
had nothing else to do during the 4 hour flight so no complaining.<br>
<br>
Written by Manish Kamdar<br>
<br>
July 13, 2011 at 8:48 AM<br>
<br>
Posted in Uncategorized<br>
<br>
Tagged with Bollywood, Chalo Dilli, Movies<br>
Visit to the US &ndash; A surprise for Mom and Dad<br>
<br>
leave a comment &raquo;<br>
<br>
This visit to the US is actually for the RightFax conference in Tuscon
from July 12 to 14th. In March / April itself the booking was made. I
knew Mom and Dad would be there in Atlanta so did not mention to them
about the planned trip at all. Started informing my sister and a very
few close friends in mid May not to ruin the surprise. I had kept it
hidden from Kavya right till the very end as she would blurt it out to
my Mom the first thing. Finally informed her at 1625 on Wednesday and
immediately left even before she could react. Made it to JFK at 6 am on
Thursday and was picked up by Namrata and Aasta and we went to Wall
Street to meet Parin. It is so good to meet friends and closest friends
make you feel even better. We were together with Parin for 90 minutes
or so (for which Namrata paid a whopping $27 for parking!!!!) but it
was well worth it. Namrata and Aasta dropped me at JFK and I then moved
to Atlanta. The prepaid phone here (again thanks to Parin) was a boon
as I was in touch with my sister once I landed. We drove home and I
stood outside while she went in and told my parents to go see what she
got for them. Since Papa has fractured his foot, it took a while for
him to move. Mom was under the impression that it would be some grocery
shopping or such. Then when Parul insisted she step out, she moved and
when she saw me she was dumb founded. Throughout the day she was under
the impression that some friend was coming from India and when she saw
me she was stunned. It was worth the whole planning. We spent three
full days together and now I will soon be on my way to Tucson, AZ for
the conference. All in all had a brief but fun stay in Atlanta.<br>
<br>
Written by Manish Kamdar<br>
<br>
July 11, 2011 at 10:44 PM<br>
<br>
Posted in Uncategorized<br>
<br>
Tagged with Papa, Atlanta, New York, Tucson, RightFax, Parin, Parul, Mom<br>
I am Kalam &ndash; An absolute must watch<br>
<br>
leave a comment &raquo;<br>
<br>
Watched this movie thanks to Vinubhai who strongly recommended it and
must admit I was mighty impressed. Do watch it please. The movie is
about a poor little boy Chotu who is inspired by the great former
President, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam. He has a zest to learn things and
that is what touched me the most. The zest for studying is so much
there in the youngsters in rural India as portrayed and they do not
have access to that. All those who remotely are even thinking of giving
up education, do consider how lucky you are to have got access to
education. I am surprised how the media is so quiet about such a
wonderful movie when the message is deeply moving. Do watch it please.
You will love it.<br>
<br>
Written by Manish Kamdar<br>
<br>
July 11, 2011 at 10:25 PM<br>
<br>
Posted in Uncategorized<br>
<br>
Tagged with Bollywood, I am Kalam, Movies<br>
Hospitalisation means life out of control<br>
<br>
with one comment<br>
<br>
My mother in law suffered from a heart attack on June 21, 2011 when she
was in Bharuch and since then life has been an absolute roller coaster
ride. Tuesday evening, packed off wifey to Bharuch and Kavya and me
left the same night. Kavya and me&nbsp; returned back on Friday
morning and Pauravi came back on Sunday afternoon. Sunday evening I
left for Bangalore and came back on Wednesday night. Mother in law was
moved in an ambulance from Bharuch ICU to Breach Candy ICU on Tuesday.
Kavya has never been a problem so all I had to do was drop her to
school and bring her back home once school is done. Challenges started
appearing when it came to office. After my return from Bangalore, the
next day I was working from home as she had school only till noon.
Friday, I went early to office and came back by 3 pm and then again
working from home. Saturday too was from home. While working from home
gives you the flexibility it sure is no great shakes honestly. Kavya
would expect me to help her with changing channels or watch a movie
with her and I wanted her to finish her homework etc. Tough handling a
6.5 year old sometimes. Seriously life is just on the auto pilot mode
right now not knowing what is going on. Hope to see the logical
conclusion to this soon.<br>
<br>
Written by Manish Kamdar<br>
<br>
July 3, 2011 at 11:36 AM<br>
<br>
Posted in Uncategorized<br>
<br>
Tagged with Bharuch, Breach Candy, Hospital, Kavya, Mother in law<br>
Just Dance &ndash; A new show on TV<br>
<br>
leave a comment &raquo;<br>
<br>
Yesterday was the first show of the much advertised show Just Dance
where Hrithik Roshan is one of the judges. Since we were out for
dinner, I recorded the show and am watching it on Sunday morning at
1030. The show so far is not earth shattering maybe as they are still
showing the elimination rounds and Hrithik is yet to make his grand
entry as a judge. But what I have completely detested about this show
is that the judges when they eliminate someone out, they ridicule them.
This is just not done. Fine they may not live upto your expectations
but you have no right to ridicule them. It has not gotten as bad as
Indian Idol or some such singing show in which Anu Malik would really
act like a tyrant. I have always thought that how can Anu Malik, who
himself is such a disastrous singer, can judge singers. People come to
this world with their own set of pluses and minuses and we are no one
to ridicule them.<br>
<br>
Written by Manish Kamdar<br>
<br>
June 19, 2011 at 10:41 AM<br>
<br>
Posted in Uncategorized<br>
<br>
Tagged with Hrithik Roshan, Just Dance, Reality<br>
Kavya&rsquo;s change of school<br>
<br>
with one comment<br>
<br>
Last week Kavya moved from DPYA School. A lot of questions were asked
as to why the change. Was it due to the SSC v/s ICSE debate? Not at
all. Honestly DPYA is the school where I studied (SSC of course) and
grew up. I love my school and am proud of it. But for Kavya, the
timings were proving to be too odd. The afternoon school from 1230 to
1745 left no time for her to pursue her dance classes or any games.
During our times we had the normal playing in the building compound
with friends but Mumbai being the concrete jungle that it is now, there
are no compounds left. Now we have to rely on these *extra curricular*
classes / gymkhanas. We were scouting for admission to a normal 9 to 3
school since last academic year since she was to move to the afternoon
timings and finally we got into Shishuvan School. When I went on
Thursday last week to get her school leaving certificate from DPYA, it
marked the end of my direct association with my school. But well change
is the law of nature so here&rsquo;s to the beginning of a new
phase in Kavya&rsquo;s life.<br>
<br>
Written by Manish Kamdar<br>
<br>
June 19, 2011 at 10:26 AM<br>
<br>
Posted in Uncategorized<br>
<br>
Tagged with DPYA, Kavya, School, Shishuvan<br>
Stanley Ka Dabba<br>
<br>
leave a comment &raquo;<br>
<br>
Just returned from Imax after watching Stanley ka dabba. It is one
brilliant movie which somehow gave me the impression that it was a
children&rsquo;s movie but it wasn&rsquo;t. It is a good, clean
movie for all age groups. Just that kids are the main theme but there
is so much to learn from them. Amazing storied intertwined and worth a
watch anyday. Kavya enjoyed it too. When it comes on TV I am going to
record it for sure. Do watch it. Don&rsquo;t want to give away
anything here lest someone not go to see it. No there are no sudden
twists or such. Just a nice clean movie. Go with an open mind and I am
sure you too will love it. Cheers Amol Gupte but your son Partho and
his friend, Abhishek stole the show hands down.<br>
<br>
Written by Manish Kamdar<br>
<br>
May 21, 2011 at 12:38 PM<br>
<br>
Posted in Uncategorized<br>
<br>
Tagged with Bollywood, Movies, Stanley Ka Dabba<br>
The bane of impatience when it comes to driving<br>
<br>
with 4 comments<br>
<br>
I am honestly fed up of the noise levels in Matunga particularly below
my house. I live right opposite a marriage hall and behind that one are
2 other marriage halls. I have mentioned this in the past too but today
being a Tuesday, I felt the pain honestly. It was a working day but
since I had to go to the dentist for the dreaded root canals, I was
working from home for the first half. Gosh the noise levels were just
too high. Drivers are so impatient these days and everyone thinks he is
driving an F1. At the hall right opposite, there is some kind of fun n
fair or some sale or some such silly waste of money thing. Cars would
come and everyone would expect to get off at the gate like a king
leading to chaotic traffic in both directions. It is a narrow by lane
and 1 lane is filled with parked cars. There are then just 2 lanes left
for cars to move so if one lane is blocked you can imagine the pile up.
The people behind simply believed in sitting on the horn and the noise
as you can well imagine was deafening. I wondered if it was a good idea
to go out with a stone and break down the wind screens of these honking
cars just to cool my head off.<br>
<br>
Gosh when will we grow up and learn. Yes we live in the age of 3G and
internet and all the high speeds but then this is taking things a bit
too far. Please, please, please refrain from honking. There are people
living in the buildings and they sure hate the noise.<br>
<br>
Written by Manish Kamdar<br>
<br>
April 26, 2011 at 7:59 PM<br>
<br>
Posted in Uncategorized<br>
<br>
Tagged with Matunga, Mumbai Musings, Noise, Pollution<br>
ICC World Cup 2011 Semifinal India defeats Pakistan<br>
<br>
leave a comment &raquo;<br>
<br>
The semi final ended a short while ago between arch rivals India and
Pakistan and ecstatic to say India has won. The match was of absolute
significance as India and Pakistan rarely meet each other. This was
touted as the mother of all matches and you bet it was. India entered
the semi finals by beating the holders and 3 time world champions,
Australia on Saturday and today was another tight match with Pakistan.<br>
<br>
A lot of politics is involved when it comes to Indo Pak relations and
this was the first time the two teams played each other after the
dreaded 26/11 attack on Mumbai 3 years ago. The match started at 1430
and so most of us were out of office by 1400 and glued to the TV sets.
I was planning to go to Matunga Gymkhana or Otters to watch it but then
got home and sat glued in front of the TV.<br>
<br>
The last two matches, I have followed very actively on Twitter and gosh
the tension is palpable there. People praying, superstitious, whatever
but it was fun since we won in the end. There are so much expletives
flowing freely and I had to mask some of the retweets but all in all
fantastic performance from the Indians.<br>
<br>
Next step, aamchi Mumbai right at Wankhede stadium. We play Sri
Lanka&hellip;.. But then the final on Saturday for me assumes much
lesser significance as we won today and that is what matters most.
Cheers Team India. Thoroughly enjoyed the last game against the Aussies
and today was the icing on the cake. Keep it up.<br>
<br>
Written by Manish Kamdar<br>
<br>
March 30, 2011 at 11:29 PM<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Who said What?<br>
<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Manish Kamdar on A Memorable Journey
back home from San Francisco<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Vinit Patel on A Memorable Journey back
home from San Francisco<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bhavesh Rathod on A Memorable Journey
back home from San Francisco<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Manish Kamdar on Chalo Dilli &ndash;
An average film with a good ending<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hemanshu on Chalo Dilli &ndash; An
average film with a good ending<br>
<br>
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